Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, recently reached a confidential settlement with two teenage plaintiffs in a significant California lawsuit concerning social media addiction. This development allowed the company to avert a bellwether jury trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court just two days before it was set to begin. The case, overseen by Judge Carolyn Kuhl, combined claims from a 16-year-old from Illinois and an 18-year-old from Mississippi, identified in court documents as S.J. and K.D.B., respectively. The trial had already entered the jury selection phase before the settlement was reached.
Earlier in the proceedings, co-defendants TikTok and Alphabet, parent of YouTube, settled with the plaintiffs. Meta Platforms also resolved its claims with K.D.B. on the Friday before Snap’s agreement, having previously settled with S.J. This left Snap as the remaining defendant facing trial. The last-minute settlement spares Snap CEO Evan Spiegel from testifying in what would have been his first courtroom appearance on the matter of social media addiction.
In a statement, Snap expressed satisfaction with the resolution, emphasizing their commitment to continually improving user safety, privacy, and well-being. The plaintiffs in the coordinated proceedings alleged that the social media companies had defectively designed their platforms with features encouraging compulsive use among minors. They cited platform elements like autoplay and infinite scroll, claiming these lead to mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
This legal action reflects a broader movement away from traditional defenses under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, historically used by tech companies to shield against liability for third-party content. Instead, plaintiffs are now targeting the platforms’ design choices, like algorithms and user interface elements. This approach aligns with a previous decision by Judge Kuhl to allow product liability and negligence claims, as reported by legal analysts from Dynamis LLP.
The case was one of many in the Los Angeles coordinated proceedings, which still have over 1,600 claims pending ahead of the next scheduled bellwether trials in 2027. In March of this year, a jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligence in a similar bellwether trial, resulting in $6 million in damages. Subsequently, Meta agreed to an $18 billion settlement with state attorneys general, mandating a portion of the payout be contingent on similar agreements with Snap and others. Reports such as one from BBC News have highlighted the increasing legal scrutiny and settlements faced by major tech firms over their platform designs.